Walking A Lonely Path: Immigration in Oklahoma

Story and photos by Amy Martinez-Reynolds

America was founded as a nation of immigrants, but these days talk of immigration raises questions about safety, stigmatization and politics.

According to Pew Research Center, the U.S. is home to one-fifth of the world’s international migrants. These immigrants come from nearly every country. That research shows that 23% of immigrants are from Mexico. Six percent are from India, 5% from China, 4% from the Philippines and 3% from El Salvador. Latino immigrants share some cultural and linguistic commonalities, but each country has its own unique history and identity.

But why come to America?

Coming to America

For many immigrants, this country offers tangible benefits compared to their home countries. The reasons for immigrating often come down to more work opportunities and less violence.

“Prácticamente, mucha gente llega buscando algo diferente,” (Practically, a lot of people come looking for something different.) said Kimbly Del Valle, an immigrant from Mexico who is in the working her way through the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization system. “Si mi hijo hubiera nacido allá, habría muerto.” (If my son had been born over there, he would’ve died.)

“The thing about Latin American countries is that it is not a safe place. There’s too much evil going on. So, to guarantee them being safe is not a possibility,” Oklahoma City resident Angel Ramirez said. Ramirez is a permanent legal resident.

“Lo malo es que había mucha delincuencia, mataban y robaban gente y niños,” (The bad thing is, there was a lot of delinquency, they killed and robbed people and children.) Del Valle explained.

“We are not here to be criminals or break the laws like they said,” Garcia said. “We came to work. We even pay taxes.”

Coming here to work is a common refrain among immigrants. According to the American Immigration Council, immigrants make up 8% of Oklahoma’s workforce. Although immigrants practice medicine, open businesses, clean houses and program computers, they are heavily represented in construction.

If you look around at the building and establishments, you don’t stop to wonder who built it.

“We’re the ones working in construction and everything we can. We contribute a lot to this place (America),” Garcia said. “We don’t come here to take anybody’s job. We do the job that people don’t want to do.”

To some immigrants, a life in America seems safer than living a life in their own countries. In America, they have better opportunities in education, and a good healthcare system, although its affordability is a huge concern for Americans and immigrants alike — particularly undocumented immigrants who often have no recourse except emergency rooms when sick, which impacts their health and costs taxpayers billions.

“La atención médica es horrible si no tienes dinero. Uno se muere porque no tienes acceso a medicinas ni a doctores," (Healthcare is horrible if you don’t have money. One dies because you have no access to medicine or doctors.) Del Valle responded.

But supporters of stricter immigration policies and enforcement argue there is a legal path to entering the country and those who violate the law shouldn’t stay.

In a February announcement, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced a new agreement between state law enforcement agencies and immigration authorities to arrest and detain people who violate immigration laws.

"Law enforcement can't do their jobs with one hand tied behind their back. By working directly with ICE, our law enforcement officers now have additional tools to keep dangerous criminals off our streets and protect Oklahomans," Governor Stitt said in a press release. "Oklahoma is proud to lead the way in strengthening border security from the state's side and enforcing the rule of law."

Struggles for students

According to the Migration Policy Institute, roughly 6% of Latino immigrants are minors, and 76% are between 18 to 65 years old. Based on these estimations, most of the Latino community is young adults.

By law, those children have to go to school. That fact has led to a split between the governor and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

“Schools are crippled by the flood of illegal immigrants and the Biden/Harris open border policy. Oklahomans and the country elected President Trump and we will do everything possible to help put Oklahoma students first,” State Superintendent said in a press release.

Walters wants schools to collect and report the immigration status of students. His statement says he wants to avoid families being split up by federal deportations.

Governor Stitt made a public break with Walters over how to deal with immigrants in schools.

“Collecting 6-, 7-, 8-year-old kids’ addresses and immigration status in the state of Oklahoma, that’s not a public safety issue,” Stitt said in a press conference. “Let’s go after the bad guys. Let’s go after people that are committing crimes, and let’s not terrorize and make our kids not show up at school.”

“The average age of Latinos is 12 years old. Everyone else is around 58 years old. The immigrant community is a really young community. And they’re a growing, thriving community in Oklahoma and around the U.S., too,” said Michael Brooks, an immigration attorney and an Oklahoma state senator who represents south Oklahoma City.

Most of these immigrants are school age. This raises concerns, especially for immigrant families, about sending their children to school for fear that they will be separated from their families.

“The trauma of having those families being separated, or the trauma of having people who are US citizens and born in the United States having to make the decision if they’re going to a country they have never been, to remain with their families if they’re deported,” Brooks said.

Many immigrant families have young children, or the parents were young children when they arrived. This can pose a language barrier between races.

“Honestly, it was a bit tough at first, not knowing the language,” Ramirez said. “One big thing that helps me connect with other Latinos and people who are going through the same thing is my school. Especially here in ‘The South,’ it’s mostly Hispanics. Everywhere you look, you see at least 20 Hispanic families.”

Oklahoma Public Schools works with Oklahoma City Community College(OCCC) to offer free English classes for students and parents, and assist in enrollment.

Another way for children to go to school without being separated from their families was Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a policy that allows some undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to avoid deportation and obtain work permits. However, as of July 2021, DACA is being legally challenged and will no longer grant any new first-time DACA requests.

Struggles for adults

Some immigrant adults find America a safe haven as they flee domestic abuse and human trafficking.

While there are programs and visas they can apply for, they still have to worry about paying for them. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) provides a special pathway to lawful immigration status for victims of domestic abuse who would otherwise have to rely on their abusers to file a petition for status for them.

But for immigrants who don’t know about this help, they have to find jobs.

“Pasaron los dias, y otras personas me dijeron 'tienes que ir a corte, levantar cargos.' Todo para mi, eso era nuevo. No sabia nada o como sucedía nada,” (A few days passed, and people told me, ‘You need to go to court, press charges.’ All of this was new to me. I didn’t know anything or how anything worked.) Del Valle said when asked about her domestic abuse situation.

Immigrants aren’t always just doing the jobs no one wants.

According to the New American Economy, immigrant enterprises account for 21.7 percent of all business owners in the United States, even though they represent just over 13.6 percent of the population as of 2019.

According to a 2022 study from MIT, immigrants to the United States are about 80% more likely to start a business than U.S.-born citizens.

“I had to become a single mom of four, and I had to work. I had to do whatever I had to do to provide for my kids and everything they needed,” Garcia said. “I got tired of being discriminated at places that I used to work and getting underpaid. I became more frustrated with that because we (immigrants) even work harder than other people. I didn’t see it fair that we get paid less and work harder than other people who didn’t do the job and they get paid well.”

But, public sentiment on immigration is complex. According to a March Pew Research Center poll, roughly one-third of adults surveyed said all immigrants illegally in the United States should be deported.

Undocumented immigrants are currently being forced to deport and public messaging is urging others to leave the country before they are deported. It puts many immigrants, documented and undocumented in a difficult position according to Sen. Brooks.

“At this point, I’m not ready to recommend to people to abandon their entire life that they built here and go back to where they came from,” Brooks said. “These employers have benefited greatly from immigrant labor, and to abandon people at this point is kinda reprehensible,” he said.

In tandem with the federal deportations, a new state law created the crime of “impermissable occupation” in Oklahoma and strengthened cooperation between the state and immigration authorities.

All of this has led to concerns about racial profiling and racist attitudes toward Latino immigrants, many of whom are here legally.

“I still get discriminated. I still get cussed out,” Garcia said.

“Eso sí duele mucho porque todos ser humanos somos iguales,” (That does hurt a lot because all humans are the same.) Del Valle said.

“We’re all people. We need to look out for each other,” Ramirez said

Whether these efforts make Oklahoma safer and more prosperous or simply serve to stigmatize those who are simply here seeking a better life is yet to be seen. Supporters of immigrant rights say it is scary right now.

“I want to say not to give up hope,” Brooks said.